Lee’s FTs lift Bulldogs past Bears

Larry Lee hit two free throws in the final seconds to give Mississippi Gulf Coast an 85-83 road win over Baton Rouge on Thursday afternoon.

Lee's 14^th and 15^th points of the day were the difference after the Bears had a 3-pointer at the buzzer bounce a couple of times on the rim and fall off.

"Larry really impacted the game," Gulf Coast coach Owen Miller said. "He got some hard rebounds. He missed two free throws with a minute and half left, and then comes back and makes both of them. I'm really pleased with him being able to get over the last play."

It was the final non-conference game for the Bulldogs (10-4), who begin MACCC play Monday when East Mississippi visits. Tipoff in Perkinston is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Baton Rouge (6-8) took an 83-81 lead after bucket from the lane with 32.9 seconds left. Jabbari Barry (So., Lake Charles, La./Barbe) tied it up 16 seconds later with a baseline jumper. Barry finished with 25 points to lead Gulf Coast.

Lee, who set a new season high in points, claimed a defensive rebound and was fouled with 6.6 seconds left on the clock and nailed both freebies.

"We got to win it on the defensive end, which is always fun to do," Miller said. "We were able to get it."

Kaue Kalinowski (So., Curitiba, Brazil/Divine Savior) had 20 for the Bulldogs.

"I thought we played good," Miller said. "We took care of the ball and only had seven turnovers. We shot it well, and we guarded them really good and made them take contested shots. It was just offensive rebounds."

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